Chapter 19
HARRISON
Ipulled up the drive to my parents’ place.
My tires crunched over the gravel that had been imported from some estate in France back when my great-great-grandfather struck it rich in the gold rush.
The Westwood mansion, affectionately known as the Big House, appeared from around the final bend in the road.
Ivy wound around the statuesque columns.
Garvey, the butler who had been with my parents since before I’d been born, waited for me at the wide, double front doors.
Home.
No matter how old I got, arriving here would always feel like coming home. I smiled as I parked right at the base of the stairs, ignoring Garvey’s scowl over the fact that my mother hated it when we stopped here.
“Master Harrison,” he said, his tone clipped as I breezed past him. “You know your m—”
I tossed him my keys along with a grin over my shoulder. “You’re welcome to move it if you want, Garv. No one else is coming today, though. It’ll be fine.”
A loud sigh rattled out of him, but he didn’t try to stop me as I strode into the cavernous foyer, in a great mood despite the fact I was here to help my mother with the Christmas decorations.
Less than twelve hours ago, I’d kissed Aurelia, and even though I’d surprised the shit out of even myself when I’d done it, she hadn’t pulled away.
Another grin tried tugging at my lips, but I knew my mom would see right through me if I let it out, so I fought it, finding her and my dad waiting in the living room.
They were standing around a gigantic, bare tree, plastic bins of decorations at their feet and a drink in each of their hands even though it was barely past noon.
Mom turned when she heard my footsteps on the marble, smiling when she saw me. “There he is, my handsome baby boy. How are you, honey?”
“I’m good, you?” I walked straight into her embrace, inhaling her scent of Chanel and Mom and giving her a tight hug. “You guys got a head start, huh?”
Dad clapped me on the back when Mom released me, his grin easy and warm. “We were trying to decide on our color scheme for this year. Mom wants white and gold. I think we should stick to the traditional red, green, and gold. What do you think?”
“I think we should use them all,” I joked, eyeing the half dozen bins I knew contained only the decorations for the tree.
Staff raced up and down the halls outside the room, busily stringing up lights, garland, mistletoe, and wreaths. By the end of the day, Westwood Manor would be more festive than Santa’s Workshop itself.
The scent of the fifteen-foot pine filled the air. Some gold-leaf baubles and antique glass ornaments had already been neatly laid out on velvet ottomans, and Bing Crosby’s greatest Christmas hits flowed softly from the built-in sound system.
I grinned and went over to the drinks cart to pour myself a whiskey, since it was tradition to do some day-drinking with the decorating. For me, anyway. And for Mom and Dad this year too, by the looks of things.
“I spoke to Renee Vanwood earlier,” Mom said as she opened the box closest to her and started rummaging through it. “She told me Justin and some of your other old friends have gone to Italy until Christmas Eve. You didn’t want to join them?”
I groaned. Justin Vanwood. High school friend and extremely lovable asshole, but one who would never grow up.
“How am I supposed to join them?” I asked, picking my drink up between my fingertips and letting it dangle there for a second as I glanced at her. “They’re in Italy for a month and then they’re heading to Prague for New Year’s Eve. I can’t stay away from work for that long.”
Mom shot me an indulgent smile. “Oh, darling. Of course, you could. I know you’re having fun with your brother, but Sterling has been managing that department without you for years. He’d be fine.”
“Sure, except that I’m not just having fun with my brother. I’m working at W&S now, Mom. That means not just jetting off with the boys whenever they decide to go snowboarding.”
“I think what your mother is trying to say is that you shouldn’t feel like you’re chained to your desk,” Dad said, sipping his scotch as he sat down on his favorite armchair and leaned back.
“Sterling has people who can cover for you if you’d like to go.
They’ll handle your clients and hand them back over to you when you get home. ”
I frowned, that familiar weight settling in my chest. “Are you guys serious right now?”
“Don’t look at us like that, darling,” Mom cooed, adjusting a bauble she’d just hung before stepping back to admire it. “All we’re saying is that you’re young. Your brother will understand if you take a bit of a break.”
Dad chuckled. “I wish someone would’ve told me that when I was your age. You’ve got time, Harry. Take it.”
“Don’t step into that youth is wasted on the young trap,” Mom said sagely, but her gaze was on her bauble, her eyes narrowing. She tried to decide if it was where she wanted it. “There’s nothing keeping you here.”
“Uh, work?” I suggested dryly, then took a huge gulp of my whiskey, grateful that I’d already poured it. “I know you guys don’t think I’m actually adding value at the company, but I closed a billion-dollar deal just a couple weeks ago. That has to count for something.”
“Exactly,” Dad said. “It does. You deserve a break. The future will come. For now, you should take it slow. Enjoy your life instead of forcing your nose to the grindstone.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said, inhaling deeply in an attempt to remain calm.
“You bullied all three of my brothers into getting married this year, but you want me to keep traveling? Even though I’ve already done that.
I’ve gone to college, I’ve graduated and moved out.
I’m taking my job seriously. I’m trying to make something of myself and somehow that’s a problem? ”
“Don’t be so dramatic, darling.” Mom still hadn’t even looked at me again, nodding absently to herself before reaching for another bauble. “Wanting to make something of yourself is wonderful. We just don’t want you to miss out while you’re doing it. You should see the house Justin—”
“I’ve been to that house, Mom. About four times, actually. Trust me, I’ve seen it. If I wanted to be there now, I would’ve been.”
Dad watched me as I crossed the room, swiping up a bauble from the ottoman to give my hands something to do, and he chuckled as I stuck it on a random branch.
“We didn’t bully your brothers into anything, boy.
I simply told them what we expected from them.
For heaven’s sake, Sterling is thirty-four and he’d never even been in a serious relationship except with his work. ”
“I’m twenty-four,” I said.
Mom suddenly looked at me, another smile spreading her lips. “That’s precisely our point, baby. You’re so young. We just don’t want you to feel like you have to slave away at that office just to prove something to your brothers.”
“Callum’s only twenty-eight, but that didn’t stop you from issuing him the same ultimatum you gave to Sterling and Jameson.”
Dad slowly tilted his head. “Callum also has a seven-year-old son, Harry. Sure, we didn’t know about it at the time, but it worked out for the best for all of them. It will be the same for you when you finally meet someone.”
“Actually,” I said, the word tasting dangerous on my tongue. “I’m seeing someone already. It’s pretty serious.”
I stopped before I told them that I’d already proposed, but Mom still jerked like I’d slapped her and Dad frowned so deeply, his eyebrows swallowed his eyes.
“What?” My mom set down the ornament she’d been holding slowly, like she was dazed and about to faint. “How serious?”
“Don’t go doing anything rash now, Harrison,” Dad said firmly, suddenly looked exasperated. “Just because your brothers have settled doesn’t mean that you should feel pressured to do the same thing. You’ve got time.”
I groaned. “Could you please just stop fucking saying that? I’m not seeing her because I feel pressured. I’m seeing her because I’m ready to settle down and I found someone I want to do that with.”
“Settle down?” Mom echoed after me, stumbling backward and practically collapsing into an armchair. I’d never seen her move so unintentionally before. “You cannot be serious.”
“Why not?” I countered. “Plenty of people my age are married and starting families. I’m gainfully employed. I—”
“Gainfully employed at your family’s company,” Dad cut me off with a scoff. “Those boys your age who are married and starting families have worked their way up at this point. They—”
“So what, you’re saying that for as long as I’m working at W&S, I’m not really working?
Or is it that I’m never going to work my way up?
” I narrowed my eyes at him, my heart pounding and my blood suddenly feeling way too hot.
“Well, then I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m thinking of starting my own firm. ”
The room went dead quiet. Dad’s brows snapped together, his hand tightening around the glass. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not.” My voice was steady, a lot more confident than I felt, but on the other hand, with Aurelia by my side, I had faith that we could do it.
“None of you are ever going to take me seriously, but I’m not naive, stupid, or a baby.
I’m not some incapable, trust find kid who’s going to get bored and go snowboarding with his friends while he waits for you to die so he can live off his inheritance. ”
Dad leaned forward, his expression steady but his voice firm.
“Son, no one is pushing you and no one thinks you’re incapable.
We just don’t want you rushing into something you’ll regret.
You’ll find the right match eventually, and when you meet her, you’ll know she’s the one you’re going to marry.
You’ll prove yourself at the firm. My firm.
You’re young. Where is all this coming from? ”
“I’m not that young,” I said, the heat in my blood rising to my face.
“I’m not waiting around for you two to decide what’s best for me, either.
I’m good at my job. If I go out on my own, I’ll be able to make a name for myself without everyone thinking that Sterling’s behind everything I do or that he’s in my ear, responsible for every deal I make.
As for knowing when I meet the one, I’ve already done that. I already know.”
The silence that followed stretched for so long, the only sound in the room was the faint crackle of the fire. Mom finally spoke, her voice cold now, stripped of the holiday warmth it had held earlier. “This girl. She’s filling your head with this nonsense, isn’t she?”
I clenched my jaw. “This isn’t nonsense.”
Her chin lifted. “Then tell us where this is coming from. Going out on your own. Settling down. You’ve never talked about any of this before.”
I met both their gazes, my heart pounding, but it was time. “I’m getting married.”
Mom gasped. Dad surged out of his chair, blinking furiously. “You’re what?”
“I’m getting married,” I repeated, the word slicing through the tension of the air like a bullet on fire. “That’s all you need to know right now.”
Before either of them could reply, I turned, grabbed my coat, and stormed out into the cold afternoon.
Garvey handed me my keys when I reached the stairs, not commenting on what he’d obviously overheard since he’d been waiting here with my keys, and I pulled out of my parents’ driveway with my tires spinning on the gravel.
I didn’t even know where I was going until I found myself parking outside Aurelia’s building. My hands were still shaking with leftover adrenaline when I climbed out. Ducking my head, I jogged through the light drizzle that had started up on my way back into the city.
The doorman stopped me, shaking his head when I asked if she was home, already picturing the way she would remind me not to let my parents get under my skin. She and I could do this. I knew we could be damn successful together—both as a married couple and business partners.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the doorman said, yanking me out of my thoughts. “She’s not in. Would you like me to give her a message?”
I swallowed back the bitter disappointment, my jaw tight as I started backing toward the door. “No. Thank you. I’ll just catch up with her later.”